CGCGCD - Part 1 of Many
An Alternative to DADGAD

CGCGCD is an interesting tuning which has much in common with DADGAD. Anyone familiar with DADGAD will find it familiar very quickly, and many songs translate easily between the two tunings. Although I still find DADGAD to be more versatile, there are some advantages to using CGCGCD and it has become my "other" tuning over the past 5 years.

If we take the root note to be C, this tuning can be written as: 1-5-1-5-1-2. Compare this to DADGAD, taken in the key of D which is: 1-5-1-4-5-1.

Both tunings have 1-5-1 on the bass strings, which solves half the problem of changing across from DADGAD. In the top treble strings we have a 5-1 pair again, and an odd string out. In DADGAD it's the 4th, in CGCGCD it's the 2nd. Note that both 4ths and 2nds are commonly referred to as "suspended" notes when naming chords. Here are some examples in the CGCGCD tuning:

None of these chords has a 3rd and so there is no major or minor designation. This ambiguity lends an unresolved, or "suspended" sound to the chord (tune up and try it out). Just a little chord theory while we're at it, 4ths and 2nds can also be added to chords that do have a third with interesting results. Some examples:

When the 3rd is present, as in these examples, a 4th is written as an added 11th. This is because it is now an "extension" to the chord and the 4th is notated in the next octave along (hence 11th). Similarly, the 2nd is written as an added 9th. In these cases, the 3rd is present and the lack of resolution is less pronounced. Instead, these chords are very colorful and expressive, particularly for finger-pickers as they allow melodies to be played across several strings.

As we tend to favor open-strings when using these tunings it is natural that these suspended notes will be the signature sound for the tuning. With DADGAD we often get the open G ringing away over a D chord giving that familiar suspended drone. In CGCGCD, the open D rings as a milder suspension. Firstly, the suspended 2nd is not as obvious as a suspended 4th. And secondly, the open D is positioned above the other 5 strings which keeps the drone out of the way of the other strings. This helps avoid muddiness in the mid-range and gives a warm bright ambience that is unique to this tuning.

The tuning is also good for combining strumming and picking through phrases. The reason is that again the odd string out is on the top, helping keep it out of the way of chords where it doesn't belong. To get you going, here are a few more interesting chords. Have fun.